“I took them too.”
“You’re too close to the situation.” A beep interrupted Alicia. “My cell battery is about to die. Call me in a couple of days and let me know what is happening.”
“Will do. Thanks for the lead on the job and the conversation. I really needed to talk.”
“Anytime, girlfriend.”
The line went dead. Janie stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up and calling the number Alicia had given her.
“Hi, this is Janie Murphy,” she started. “I understand you’re looking for a volunteer woman’s counselor.” At least if they accepted her she could get out of the house.
* * *
The next morning,Janie headed downstairs with her journal in her hand and a note. It was early, but Cole was probably already in his home office working, and she didn’t want to disturb him.
She had an interview at the clinic in an hour, and if she got the job, it would get her out of the house and not thinking about him so much. It would give her some personal satisfaction as well.
A sad smile crossed her lips. It wasn’t like she needed the money. Her father had left her more than enough to live on her own, but she wanted to make her own way. As much as Cole frustrated her, living in his house made her feel secure, but she needed to move beyond his protection.
Janie made her way into the kitchen and set the journal and note on the table where Cole would see them. Then she jogged into the garage. She loved the little hybrid she’d bought when she came home from college.
Three hours later, Janie bounded into the house. She had a job. And what was even better was they were going to pay her. Not a huge amount of money, but that wasn’t the point. She still needed more than the one year experience after college before she could start applying for bigger positions, and working at the women’s clinic counseling women on everything from birth control to domestic violence to sexual health was a foot in the door.
Once in her room, she changed clothes, grabbed the book Cole wanted her to read, and headed for the kitchen. She’d make a sandwich and go out on the deck to read. She skidded to a halt when she saw Cole sitting at the table reading her journal. Oh, hell, she’d been right in her earlier guess—he must be working from home today.
“Hi,” she said keeping her voice bright and cheerful.
“You were gone quite a while.” He closed the journal.
Janie swallowed. His tone was flat, his face was closed down, and she couldn’t read him. And darn it, she was good at reading people, but he had a way of shutting her out. She set the book in her hand on the counter.
“I left you a note.” She fought to keep her tone light as she opened the fridge. She hadn’t told him the truth in her note.
“You did. You went shopping but didn’t buy anything.”
Did he see her return and she didn’t notice? Her stomach clenched, and it wasn’t from hunger. “I didn’t find anything I wanted.” She pulled lunchmeat, cheese, and mayo out of the fridge. “Want a sandwich?”
“No, thank you.” His tone was flat.
Janie shrugged, trying to ignore the way he stared at her. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so honest in her journal. She put her sandwich on a plate, put everything away, and then sat down at the table with her food. She hated hiding her job from him, but he’d go all protective male on her, and she really wanted to help others. Besides, it would also mean coming clean about her master’s degree, and she wasn’t ready to do that.
“I read your journal entry.”
The food turned to sawdust in her mouth, but she nodded and swallowed.
“You think I’m moving too slowly.”
“We’ve been at this for a week, Cole. All we’ve done is you stroking my skin with toys.”
“I will not be rushed.”
Janie let out a sigh. “This is why I wanted to go to a club.”
He frowned. “You’re too new to the lifestyle; a club would eat you alive. You’ve only been writing one page a day in your journal until now. What changed?”
“For a guy, you ask a lot of questions.” She pushed her half-eaten sandwich away.
“As I'm your Dom, you are not supposed to hide things from me. What are you hiding?”
